Plastic fat spreads are usually composed of an aqueous phase and a fat phase, the latter nowadays comprising a liquid base stock and a smaller amount of a hardstock for structuring the fat phase to give the spread the required plasticity and spreadability.
For nutritional, health and naturalness reasons several requirements are to be pursued
smallest possible amount of saturated fat PA1 smallest possible amount of trans unsaturated fat PA1 highest possible amount of cis unsaturated fat, especially of all-cis polyunsaturated fat PA1 no use of so called tropical oils PA1 minimum processing, especially minimum use of chemical treatments.
For satisfying these requirements as far as possible a major measure is using a hardstock having a very efficient structuring capacity whereby a relatively low percentage of hardstock calculated on total fat can be used.
EP 89 082 describes hardstocks that can be used at relatively low amounts in the fat blend of margarines and spreads. At least 55 wt % of the hardstock consists of triglycerides with a carbon number ranging from 44 to 48. These triglycerides comprise predominantly 2 saturated or mono-trans fatty acids with a chain length of 16 or more carbon atoms (indicated by "H") and 1 lauric or myristic fatty acid (indicated by "M"). The hardstock can be prepared by randomly esterifying appropriate fatty acids with glycerol or by randomly interesterifying mixtures of fats such as fully hardened palm kernel fat and palm fat and fractionating the randomized mixture to recover a fraction enriched in the socalled H.sub.2 M triglycerides.
EP 233 036 discloses hardstocks given by the expression Z.sup.2 =4 XY where X=HHH, Y=MHM and Z=HHM. The .alpha.(1,3) fatty acids must be randomly distributed which is achieved by means of enzymatic rearrangement of a fat mixture. As source of M acids, tropical oils like coconut, palm kernel and babassu oil are used.